Scintillator materials, which emit light pulses in response to impinging radiation, finds a wide range of applications, including medical imaging, particle physics and geological exploration. In a typical scintillation detector for radiation detection, a scintillator crystal is coupled to light sensor, such as a photomultiplier tube (PMT), photodiode, or silicon photomultiplier. The performance of such detectors can be adversely affected by various defects in the scintillator crystal. Efforts have been made to improve the scintillator growth process to reduce the concentrations of the various defects and otherwise improve the performance of scintillator materials and detectors. Nonetheless, there is a continued need for scintillator materials and detectors with improved optical characteristics.